MPs’ business costs

Sir Alan Campbell

IPSA paid £2,428,632 against 2,207 published rows for Sir Alan Campbell between 2010-11 and 2025-26 as the member for Tynemouth BC. These are the costs of running an office and employing staff under IPSA’s rules. They are not salary, and the largest part of them is wages IPSA pays to the member’s employees rather than money the member receives.

By category, 2017-18

137 claims, £147,651 paid. The headings are IPSA’s own categories grouped; the categories inside each are named on the register page.

Category	What it covers	Claims	Paid	Share
Staffing	The salaries and employment costs of the people an MP employs to run their office and casework. IPSA pays these directly; they are not money an MP receives.	2	£113,864	77.1%
Office costs	Renting and running a constituency office: rent, utilities, equipment, stationery and postage.	108	£19,177	13.0%
Accommodation	The cost of somewhere to stay for an MP whose constituency is far enough from Westminster that IPSA's rules allow it. An MP representing a London seat is not eligible on the same terms.	26	£7,247	4.9%
Travel	Journeys between the constituency and Westminster and within the constituency. Until 2018-19 IPSA published one travel category; from 2019-20 it publishes travel by the MP, by staff and by a dependant separately.	1	£7,363	5.0%

Every year in the register

Sir Alan Campbell’s own years, not the register’s: the first is 2010-11 and the last is 2025-26. Figures are not adjusted for inflation, so a rise between two distant years is partly a rise in prices. Select a year to read it on its own.

Year	Claims	Staffing	Office costs	Accommodation	Travel	Miscellaneous	Total
2010-11	91	£64,139	£14,001	£4,386	£9,819	—	£92,345
2011-12	129	£80,252	£19,660	£4,799	£13,516	£218	£118,446
2012-13	135	£78,130	£22,130	£5,015	£12,944	—	£118,219
2013-14	141	£82,529	£23,327	£5,104	£13,548	—	£124,508
2014-15	141	£91,350	£20,909	£5,470	£15,039	—	£132,768
2015-16	141	£104,926	£22,162	£5,157	£16,189	—	£148,433
2016-17	161	£107,238	£22,505	£3,899	£15,462	—	£149,104
2017-18	137	£113,864	£19,177	£7,247	£7,363	—	£147,651
2018-19	160	£133,437	£22,398	£5,089	£11,809	—	£172,733
2019-20	160	£135,795	£21,178	£4,424	£11,921	—	£173,319
2020-21	135	£154,524	£17,999	£5,410	£6,384	—	£184,316
2021-22	138	£158,711	£20,275	£5,480	£7,217	—	£191,682
2022-23	163	£169,014	£21,950	£5,957	£10,198	—	£207,118
2023-24	160	£172,423	£22,222	£6,330	£12,457	£220	£213,653
2024-25	145	£184,079	£25,111	£14,204	£6,855	—	£230,249
2025-26	70	—	£21,236	£2,851	—	—	£24,087

A year in which Sir Alan Campbell joined or left the House part-way through is a part year, and is not comparable with a full one.

What each category is made of, 2017-18

The cost types IPSA records inside each heading, largest first by what it paid.

Staffing

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Payroll	1	£109,064
Pooled Services: Direct	1	£4,800

Office costs

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Const Office Rent	14	£7,509
Const Office Tel. Usage/Rental	29	£3,369
Const Office Electricity	12	£1,486
IT/Other Equipment Hire	13	£1,373
Advertising	5	£915
Const Office Cleaning	9	£910

Accommodation

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Service Charges	4	£4,737
Council Tax	10	£1,602
Buildings Insurance	1	£408
Electricity	10	£400
Ground Rent	1	£100

Travel

Cost type	Claims	Paid
Aggregated Travel Costs	1	£7,363

Largest claims, 2017-18

The 15 rows IPSA paid most against, with IPSA’s own description of each. Read the description before the amount: IPSA publishes most of a member’s staffing as one row for the whole year — “Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the ⟨year⟩ year” — so the largest row here is usually a year of wages for the member’s employees and not something bought.

Date	Category	Cost type	Description	Claimed	Paid
31 March 2018	Staffing	Payroll	Total Staffing budget payroll costs for the 2017-18 year	£109,064	£109,064
31 March 2018	Travel	Aggregated Travel Costs	Aggregated figure for travel during 2017-18	£7,363	£7,363
28 April 2017	Staffing	Pooled Services: Direct	PRS	£4,800	£4,800
18 July 2017	Accommodation	Service Charges	Service Charge	£1,553	£1,553
16 June 2017	Accommodation	Service Charges	Service fee	£1,553	£1,553
18 December 2017	Accommodation	Service Charges	Service Charge	£1,057	£1,057
9 March 2018	Office Costs	Contact Cards	Mar misc	£674	£674
23 February 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£667	£667
26 January 2018	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£667	£667
21 December 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£667	£667
24 November 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£667	£667
29 October 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£667	£667
29 September 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£667	£667
29 August 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£667	£667
27 July 2017	Office Costs	Const Office Rent	—	£667	£667

What this page does not show

Whether any of it was justified. IPSA accepted these claims under its own rules and the register records what was paid, not whether it should have been. A large total is not a finding about the member.

Nor how Sir Alan Campbell compares with another member. After staffing the largest headings are accommodation and travel, and both are decided mostly by where a constituency is: a member several hundred miles from Westminster is eligible for costs a member with a London seat is not. Two members’ totals are two sets of rules as much as two sets of choices, and the length of service differs too.

It is also not pay. IPSA sets and publishes MPs’ salaries separately and they are not in this register; the staffing figure here is the salaries of the member’s employees.

All MPs’ business costs · Sir Alan Campbell’s register of interests and votes · Sources